Carolines Breakout Artist: Carmen Lynch

Print out this page and bring it to the venue to get $5 off Carmen Lynch’s show at Carolines on May 4! Ticket info here.

World famous comedy venue Carolines on Broadway and Punchline Magazine have joined forces to present the Breakout Artist Comedy Series. Each Tuesday, at Carolines in New York City, an emerging stand-up comedy star will headline their own show and prove just why they’ve been quietly building a name for themselves in the national comedy scene.

And since we here at Punchline Magazine are all about exposing the best comedians – well-known or not – we’ll be profiling each comedian taking part in the Carolines series each week. So let’s get to this week’s headliner: Carmen Lynch!

Carmen Lynch is the offspring of a petite Spanish nurse and a tall American Naval officer. She was born in California — that town where Clint Eastwood was mayor. She began her performance career flamenco dancing in Spain. She has pictures to prove it but doesn’t remember much– like a party where you drink too much, except she was five.

She received her psychology degree from the College of William and Mary, then applied to the FBI but failed the psychology portion of the exam. So she moved to New York to pursue acting. She fell into comedy by accident when I started reading my journals at open mics: “Dear Diary… WTF? I’m 6 feet tall and no one ever thinks I’m Spanish. It hurts.”

Carmen’s been on Comedy Central, NBC’s Last Comic Standing. HBO’s U.S. Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen, Colo., and some Spanish stuff like SiTV’s Latino Laugh Festival, toured as one of the Latinas of Comedy with Paul Rodriguez.

So, now, let’s get to know Carmen a little more!

Not including at a comedy club or comedy event, tell us about a time where being a comedian came in handy.
Well, I’ve performed for difficult audiences, and this only helps you become a stronger person. Now when I try to make my 4-year-old niece laugh and I bomb and she leaves the room, it doesn’t hurt as much.

Who do you think are the breakout artists of the next few years?
Any of the 17 other performers doing the “Breakout Artist Comedy Series” who don’t
break out this year. They just need a little more time.

You got into comedy by reading your journal at open mics. What would possess you to do such a thing?
I was too scared to write my own jokes, so reading from my diary felt like I was stealing from someone else. If I bombed, I wasn’t responsible.

Any particularly embarrassing entries?
Does “Dear Diary, I love you” count as embarrassing, or do other people write that kind of stuff?

You speak fluent Spanish and often do Latino comedy shows. Do you think that gives you any kind of extra advantage?

I’ve always been grateful for Latinos accepting me into their Latino community. Especially since I’m not Latino. So far only one booker got mad at me for being from Spain. He got all up in my face about being too tall and having pale skin. Then he accused me of lisping when I [pronounced “Cerveza,” “Cervetha”]. I told him I love Shakira and eat enchiladas, but it made no difference.

What’s next for Carmen Lynch?
Why are we talking about Carmen as if she’s not here?

Where will you be in a few years?
Not in New Jersey. I’ve been in the same apartment for 10 years. I need to be on that show Hoarders. Hopefully. I will have been cast as a bad, bad person on Criminal Minds or at least as a dead person on CSI. I want to be in one of those buggy-eyed mouth-open dead- people scenes. I guess I’ll have a few more new jokes. Hopefully a CD and one of those Comedy Central Presents things and maybe sell a few more T-shirts on the road. Maybe more Twitter followers. And someone will read my sitcom. Stuff like that.

Check out Carmen live, as she headlines May 4 at Carolines in New York City. Get your tickets here. And remember: print this page out to get $10 off!.